


ode to math

by lemon_lullabies



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: My first fic, Poor Gon, but in my heart i know it's true, he's trying his best, the killugon is not really there, trigger warning: math
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2020-10-20
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:19:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27118765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lemon_lullabies/pseuds/lemon_lullabies
Summary: There was absolutely nothing pleasant about being 16, stuck at home staring at the same math problem for 20 minutes. Quite rudely, the problem refused to solve itself, leaving Gon to wallow in his misery. Maybe if he glared at the page for a few more minutes the paper would take pity on him and telepathically communicate the answers?Maybe he should write a poem about it. Ode to math: you suck.Or: Gon reaches out to Knuckle for math help. Because Knuckle supremacy.
Relationships: Gon Freecs & Mito Freecs, Gon Freecs/Killua Zoldyck, Gon Freecss & Knuckle Bines
Comments: 13
Kudos: 54





	ode to math

**Author's Note:**

> soooo this is my first fic that I actually finished and am sharing! it's really short but I wanted to air out my own frustrations with schoolwork lol. uni is kicking my ass. anyway please enjoy 1k of cute Gon <3

Math was agonizing. 

Tortuous. 

Brutal. 

There was absolutely nothing pleasant about being 16, stuck at home staring at the same math problem for 20 minutes. Quite rudely, the problem refused to solve itself, leaving Gon to wallow in his misery. Maybe if he glared at the page for a few more minutes the paper would take pity on him and telepathically communicate the answers?

Maybe he should write a poem about it. Ode to math: you suck.

Gon may have been able to survive countless battles, but he swears math might be his undoing. The numbers swim around in his head, blurring on the page until his head hurts. His frustration is only compounded by his inability to sit still, leaving him restless and fidgety. The incessant tap, tap, tapping of his pencil has given Mito grief more times than she can count. Luckily, she’s out of the house right now, allowing Gon to tap and squirm in his chair to his heart’s content.

And… the problem still hasn’t solved itself. Damn.

How much longer must he suffer? Oh, gods of arithmetic, hear his prayers. May the fires of hell rain upon geometry! May word problems rot under a blistering sun! Let the creators of such horrid concepts as Pythagorean theorems choke on the smoke that wafts from Gon’s ears as he attempts to process the numbers on the page! Curse you, o lords of mathematics!

Gon’s internal lament is brought to a sudden end by the front door opening. Aunt Mito shuffles in, carrying bags from the market. Gon rushes to his feet to help, abandoning his half-finished homework with glee. Mito sighs as the pencil clatters to the ground but still offers a smile of thanks as Gon alleviates some of the weight of the bags and helps put groceries away.

“So, no luck with the homework, I see.”

“It’s just so hard, Aunt Mito! I’m not smart like Killua or able to understand textbooks like Leorio. It’s not fair that the hunter’s exam is easier than my math homework!” Mito’s heart melts as she watches Gon pout dejectedly. Wordlessly, she offers him a hug, which Gon readily accepts. “When am I going to use math in the real world, anyway?”

Mito pulls back from the hug, and meets Gon’s eyes with a small smile, eyes glittering with amusement. “What if you’re on an adventure and someone stops you and starts grilling you on math problems?” Mito grabs him suddenly, pulling Gon to her chest and trapping him with warm arms. “And you can’t escape until you understand the secrets of compound interest!”

Gon giggles uncontrollably, freeing himself from her perilous trap. “Aunt Mito, that’s never going to happe—”

Wait a minute.

Compound interest.

Stopping a battle to talk about math.

He’s heard this one before!

Mito watches in confusion as Gon’s face shifts through a myriad of emotions and settles on a look of determination. “Gon?”

“Thank you, Aunt Mito! You just gave me the best idea!”

“What—”

But Gon’s already gone, rushing back to the table to grab his homework before turning to sprint up the stairs in excitement. A moment later he reappears sheepishly to grab the fallen and forgotten pencil. Poor thing, to be neglected in such a way. Mito shakes her head in amusement.

Returning to his room, Gon pulls out his clunky phone and sifts through the contacts. He quickly scrolls down to K, hovering a moment above Killua’s name when he spots it.  
Gon shakes his head to clear his mind. No, Killua can wait. This math homework isn’t going to finish itself. He’s already tried that.

He shifts his attention to the next name in his contact list: Knuckle Bines. And without giving himself a moment to drag his heels about the stubborn insolence of math to never bend to his will, he hits “call.”

“Hello?”

“Hi Knuckle! How are you? It’s been a while—”

“GON!” Knuckle practically bellows, causing Gon to pull the phone away from his ear. Huh, this must be how Killua feels when Gon answers his calls. Maybe he should reconsider that.

Nah, Killua’s response is always so funny. But back to the matter at hand.

“Yeah, hi Knuckle,” he repeats with a smile gracing his lips.

“So what’s the occasion, kid? You need me to bail you out of something? Don’t tell me you got arrested for stealing someone’s pet again. I might be your resident animal person but I’m not going through that hassle again.”

“Hey, that was one time!” Gon pouts, huffing in fake frustration. “And the owner was abusive! I couldn’t let that poor dog stay there!”

“Yeah, yeah. Excuses, excuses.”

“And anyway, this is something completely different! Something worse.”

“Oh? And what might that be?”

“Math.”

Knuckle pauses for a moment before raucous laughter fills Gon’s ears.

“Math? That’s your dire situation? So bad that you had to call me?”

“Hey, don’t laugh! I’m serious! This is a life or death situation!”

Knuckle’s laughter quickly dies out.

“Wait, life or death? What’s going on?”

“Aunt Mito will KILL me if I don’t get my math homework done!”

A pause.

More laughter.

“Kid, you’re a riot. But what makes you think I can help with your math homework?”

“Well…” Gon rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. “Your nen has to do with math, right? Compound interest or whatever? I remember you taking ages to explain it to me.”

“Yeah, and what of it?”

“So you’re smart with numbers and stuff! And I’m… not. So will you please, please, please help me?” Gon pauses for a moment before adding another soft “please?”

Knuckle sighs. “Alright kid, but just for you.”

Gon lets out a whoop of celebration, spreading his homework on his desk and grabbing his pencil. It’s time to conquer this math problem once and for all!

“So it’s geometry, and I really can’t understand…”

~~~

With Knuckle’s help, he finishes the homework in record time. Take that, lords of mathematics! You have nothing on Gon Freecss! Hunter? Yeah, hunter of solutions to complex problems! Ha, serves you right for not solving yourself.

“Thank you, Knuckle! I really mean it! You’re the bestest!”

Knuckle huffs in amusement. “Any, time kiddo.” He pauses a moment, tone turning serious. “But really, kid, you’ve got this. You’re the most resilient person I know. And I’m glad you reached out for help.”

Gon’s eyes watered and his lips wobbled. If Knuckle believed in him, maybe he really could do this. He lets out a wail. “Wahhhh! Knuckle, thank you so much! I love you!”

Now it’s Knuckle’s turn to tear up. “I love you too, you little twerp. Good luck with school, and feel free to reach out any time if you need help again.”

“Bye, Knuckle!”

“Alright, see you, kid.”

Click.

Alright! Math homework done! He should probably show Aunt Mito, but he glances down at his phone. Killua’s name shines up from his contact list. Mito can wait just a little while longer. He presses down with his thumb, the buzzing of an out-going call filling his ears.

“Yo.”

“KILLUAAAAAAAA!” Gon shouts into the phone, reminiscent of Knuckle’s yell a mere hour before.

“What the hell, Gon! You’re gonna blow out my damn eardrums, you idiot!”

Ah, yes. Hilarious as always. He’s never going to stop that.

**Author's Note:**

> aaaaaa if you made it this far, thank you!!!! I've been meaning to write a lil killugon fic, too... i have three papers due by the end of the week though and I'm in tears. we'll see if I ever get around to it lol. thanks again and have a splendid day/night!


End file.
